International dinner brings many tastes, cultures to Anderson church

Christian Becerra, left, and his twin brother Diego Becerra look over a buffet of foods from different cultures at Sunday's International Dinner at Boulevard Baptist Church.

ANDERSON - Claudia Becerra enjoyed sharing her barbacoa dish and introducing her children to cuisine from other counties at Boulevard Baptist Church's international dinner Sunday.

Becerra of Anderson is originally from Mexico and moved to the United States nine years ago. She came to the event with husband, Sergio, and their 4-year-old twins, Diego and Christian.

"I think it is a nice opportunity to meet people from other countries and taste their food," Claudia Becerra said.

She has also been coming to English for Speakers of Other Languages classes at the church for the past year. Many of the people at the dinner on Sunday are members of the class, which is held on Tuesdays.

More than 150 people came out for the international dinner, which was held at the church's activities center in Anderson and sponsored by the church's international committee, said Ruth Hodges, a chairperson of the committee. Hodges said there have been about six international dinners in the past and was impressed with the turnout on Sunday.

"I'm pleased beyond words," Hodges said. "It is the largest group we have ever had."

She said that many local residents do not know how much international diversity is represented in the Anderson area. Most residents brought a dish and the international food covered multiple tables.

People from more than 15 counties came for the dinner, including those from India, Brazil, Japan, Turkey, Hungary and the Ukraine. The event also included a violin performance and an acapella musical performance.

People from various countries addressed the crowd at the dinner to talk about why they came to the United States. They also shared their experiences about living in the Anderson area.

Yuri Maximenya, 54, of Anderson said that he was impressed with the dinner. He moved to the United States 20 years ago from the former Soviet Union to escape socialism.

Maximenya said that even though he grew up in the big city, he enjoys the country living in the Anderson area.

John Walker, 72, of Anderson has been coming to the Boulevard Baptist Church for decades and said the church has a responsibility to host these events to reach out to the community.

"I think it is a wonderful occasion to get people together to share with each other," Walker said.